Improvement in sewing-machines



Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. SPENCER & LAMB.

, Sewing Machine.

No. 22,137.` Patented Nov. 23, 1858.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2. SPENCER L LAMB,

Sewing MachineIV No. 22,137. Patented Nov.' 23, 1358.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

JAMES H. SPENCER AND rIHOMAS LAMB, OF PHILADELPHIA, PAi

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Leiters Patent No. 22.137, dated November23, 1858.

T0 all wwnt it muy concern:

Be it known that we, JairEs H. SPENCER and THOMAS LAME, both of the cityof Phila4 delphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Sewing-Machines, and we do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

Our invention relates to improvements in sewing-machines for producingthelock-stitch and our improvements consist in a novel combination of areciprocating or vibrating shuttle-holder with permanent and yieldingprojections, and a spring-catch for retaining the shuttle-plate and itsspool, the whole being arranged in respect to each other and to a lipprojecting from the cloth-plate, substantially in the manner fully setforth hereinafter.

Our invention further consists in a peculiar arrangement of cams, rods,and arms for feeding the fabric and-regulating the feed, and in acombination and arrangement of cylinders and pins for imparting thenecessary tension to the fabric and for regulating the amount oftension.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and`use ourimprovements, we will now proceed to describe their construction andoperation.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, Figure l is a side view, showing our improvements insewing-machines, Fig. 2, a front View; Fig. 3, a back view; Figs. 4 and5, detached views, showing the shuttle-'carrier and arm in differentpositions; Fig. 6, a plan view of Fig. 5; Fig. 7, a view of the feedingdevice, Fig. 8, a sectional view of the needle-bar and its guide; Figs.9 and l0,views of the device for regulating the tension of theneedle-thread; Figs. ll

' and 12, enlarged views, illustrating the peculiarv construction of theshuttle.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A represents the cloth-plate of the machine,

resting on and secured to the front leg, B, and rear leg, VB', which areconnected together near the bottom by the longitudinal bar C.

D is the main driving-shaft,arranged to turn in the opposite legs, B andB', and to this shaft are secured the scroll-grooved cylinder E and thecams F and G, all of which are alluded to hereinafter.

To the rear end of the cloth-plate A is secured the stationary arm H, tothe end of which is attached the guide I for the needle-bar J, which is,furnished with the ordinary sewingmachine needle. To a pin, a, on thearm H is hung the needle-lever K, one arm of which projects through thecloth-plate A, and is furnished at the end with a pin having a rolleradapted to the scroll-groove in the cylinder E, .the other arm of theneedle-lever being connected to the needle-bar J in the mannerillustrated in the sectional view, Fig. 8, on reference to which it willbe observed that the end of the arm ts between two blocks, b a-nd b',

These blocks are hung to the needle-bar by means of pins on which theblocks can turn freely and accommodate themselves to the differentangles assumed by the arm during the movement of the machine.

In the inner face of the cam F is cut an irregular eccentric recess, c,the form of which will be best observed on reference to Figs. 4 and 5.Into this recess ts a roller, d, on a pin secured to the end of thecurved arm e of the shuttle-lever L, the latter being arranged to turnon a stationary pin which forms a part of the plate M, the latter beingsecured to the longitudinal bar C.

In the lever L a socket is formed for the reception of the stem f, tothe top of whichis secured the shuttle-holder, which consists of ahollow cylinder, 71 in which slides a pin, fi. At one end of thecylinder h is a proj ection, j, on the pin i, and on the opposite end ofthe cylinder two projections, k k.

M is the shuttle-plate, the peculiar construction of which is bestillustrated in Figs. 11 and 12. In the face of this plate is a recesswith dovetailed edges, and into this recess fits a casing, N, to theinside of` which is secured a pin m, for receiving a spool, a, thelatter being at liberty to turn freely on the pin. The shuttle isretained in its proper position at one end and at some distance from itspoint by the projections lo k on the cylinder h, and at the opposite endby the projectionj on the end of the pin i. A spring contained withinthe cylinder h acts on the pin i in such a manner as to cause theprojection j to bear against the rear end of theshuttle and keep it incontact contained in an oblong slot in the needle-bar.

with the retaining-projections of the holder. The spring is sufficientlyelastic, however, to allow the pin t' to yield to alimited extent,affording just sufficient room'for the loop of the needle-thread to passfreely between the projections 7c 7c and the shuttle-plate at one endand the projection j and the shuttle-plate at the opposite end, and inorder to facilitate this passage of the needle-thread both the projections and/plate are smoothly rounded off at the points with which thethread must come in contact.

To the back of the cylinder 7Lv is jointed a spring-catch, p, the hookedend of which bears against the end of the pin t', or aga-inst itsprojection j, and thus prevents the shuttle, in passing through theloop, from being forced too far back. When the shuttle has to be removedfrom its holder, the spring-arm of the catch p may be depressed and thepin f1'. drawn back, when the shuttle readily escapes, and when thelspool. requires replenishing with thread the casing may be slid from itsrecess and the spool. removed for that purpose.

New, it will be ol'iserved on reference to Fig. 6 ithat the shuttle andits holder are set at an angle to the path in which it nieves, and alsoat an angle to a lip, q, which is parallel to that path, and which.projects from the under side of the cloth-plate A. The object of thisarrangement will be appa-rent hereinafter. This lip q has a recess forthe passageof the needle, and is so situated as regards theshuttlc-plate that the-poiut of the latter moves in close contiguity tobut not in actual contact with the inner face of the lip.

In the cloth-plate is the usual needle-hole, and in juxtaposition withthe latter oblong holes, through which pass projections on the rod l?,Fig. 8, the projections fitting in the holes laterally, butv having moreor less longitudinal play. The topsof the projections are furnished withpointed teeth, which are abrupt and straight o u one side, but inclinedon the opposite side. The rod P is guided by a bracket, a, projectingfrom the inside of the front standard, B, in such a'manner, however,that it may be allowed a slight vibratory movement transversely with themachine. The bottom of the rod l? rests ou the edge of the cam G, andnear the top of the rod is an enlargement, against whieh bears the endof an arm, o, which is hung loosely to a pin secured to another arm, w,midway, or thereabout, between its two ends. One of the ends of the armw is furnished with a roller, the edge of which coincides with and bearson the edge of the cam F. The opposite end of thearm w is jointed to theend of the rod x, which slides between the jaws of a forked bracket, y,which connes the rod laterally, but allows it to have a slight verticalmovement. A. thumb-nut,Q, is arranged to turn freely, but to have nolongitudinal movement, in a bracket, z. Attached to the cloth-plate andinto this nut screws the end of the rod x, so that by turning the nutthis rod may be moved in one diree- 'tion or the other. An adjustablecollar, 2, is

attached to the rod x, and a pin on this collar .projects into a h'olein the projection z of the cloth-plate, so as to indicate the length ofthe stitch, as explained hereinafter.

On the stationary arm H, Fig. 1, is a frame, R, in which are two smallcylinders, 3 and 4, Fig. l0, one being stationary and the other capableof being turned by means of the handle 5, and each of the cylinders isfurnished with a series of pins.

S, Fig. 2, is the pressure-pad, operating in the same guide as thatwhich contains the needle-bar. This pad is of the same form as thoseusually employed in sewing-machines, and is pressed down by means of aspring in the usual manner, the operator being enabled to raise the padby means of a small ai-m, T, which is so formed and so adapted to aprojection from the pressurepad that the latter can retain its elevatedposition `until released by the operator.v The needle-thread passes froma spool, 6, (which turns freely on a pin attached to the stationary armTL) to the cylinders 3 and LLL. There is lapped round the first pin ofone cylinder, then round the first pin of the other cylinder, and so onthroughout, the thread being lapped over every pin, if necessary. Fromthe cylinders the thread passes through an eye in the bracket 7,attached to the guide I, thence through an eye in the rod attached tothe end of the needlelever, thence through an eye, q, in the top of theneedle-bar J and thence through the eye of the needle to the fabric. Theshuttle-thread passes from the spool in the casing N through a hole, l0in the latter, thence through a hole in the shuttle, returning throughanother hole, thence through a third hole, returning through a fourthhole to the front of the shuttle, and thence to the fabric.

Operation: The driving shaft l) being caused to revolve by means of anyof the usual appliances, a vibrating motion will be imparted to theneedle-lever-K through the scroll-grooved cylinder E, and consequently,a reciprocating motion to the needle. At the same time a vibratingmotion will be imparted to the shuttle-arm L through the scroll-recessin the inner face of the cam F, a vertical reciprocating motion to therod l? through the cam G, as well as a short vibrating motion to thesame rod, caused by the operation of the cam-wheel F on Vthe arm w, andthrough the latter on the arm c. The stitch is formed, as in otherlock-stitch machines, by passing the shuttle through the loop of theneedle-thread. A detailed description of the operation of theabove-described. devices in accomplishing the result will therefore beunnecessary here. It will suffice to observe that, as the Y shuttlevibrates from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that illustrated in Fig.4, the point of the shuttle catches the loop, which cannot slip from thepoint on account of the lip g. As the shuttle moves forward it yields toa limited extent, so that the loop may pass freely the shuttle, thethreadpassing through one or more holes in the side of the shuttle-case.

- lt will be evident that a different degree of tension is imparted tothe thread by this arrangement, according to the portion of the spoolfrom which the thread is being unwound; for, if it is being taken fromthe rear of the spool, it will form a different angle from that which itassumes when drawn from the front end, and this difference of angle mustproduce a difference in the friction of the thread as it passes throughthe hole, and a difference in the tension must be the result. By the useof a spool hung to a pin placed at right angles, or th ereabout, to theface ofthe shuttle, as in our improvements, it will be evident that thisdefect will be entirely obviated. By adopting this plan, however, itbecomes necessary to place the shuttle at an angle, as illustrated inFigs. 6 and ll, in order that it may pass freely through theloop'withont the latter coming in contact with the spool-case.

Vith regard to our mode of regulating the tension of the needle-thread,it will -be observed, on reference to Figs. 9 and l0, that on turningthe handle 5in the direction of the arrow the succession of loops ofthread must be stretched and caused to bear more or less on the surfaceof the cylinder 3, according to the extent to which that cylinder hasbeen turned, and consequently, that the friction on the thread may beincreased or diminished at pleasure. Although one of thetension-cylinders has been described as stationary, both may be mademovable without any alteration in the result. 1

The feeding apparatus illustrated in Fig. 7 operates as follows: The rodP is, in the first instance, elevated by the action of the cam G-,i-sothat the teeth at the top of the rod shall catch against thc under sideof the fabric. A swell on the edge of the cam F then raises the arm fwand causes the arm .o to push against the rod P and force it with asudden movement in the direction of the arrow, thus givingthe requiredamount of feed. A spring, Z, serves to restore the rod P and arm 'U totheir former positions as the cams continue to revolve. Should the rodan, to which the arm 'w is hung, be drawn back, by turning the thumb-nutQin a direction contrary to that pointed out by the arrow the forwardmovement of the rod P would be diminished and the stitch consequentlyreduced in length. ln order to adjust the stitch to any required lengththe operator, as he turns the nut Q, has merely to observe the pin onthe collar 2, and note its position in the oblong slot in the projectionz of the cloth-plate, intowhich slot the Said pin proiects.

Haring now described the nature of our improvements and the manner inwhich the same may be carried into effect, we wish it to be understoodthat, although we have described the shuttle as moving in the arc of acircle, we do not desire to confine ourselves to that particularmovement, as a horizontal motion would be equally as effective. We wishit also to be understood that we do not claim, broadly, causing thecarrier to convey the shuttle over the required space independently ofany shuttle-race;v but 7e claim and desire to`secure by Letters Patenty.L

l. rlhe vibrating or recilnfocating carrier h, with its permanentprojections k k, yielding projection j, and spring-retaining catch p, incombination withtheshnttle-platc M, its casing il, and spool n, when theseveral parts are constructed substantially as described, and when theyare arranged in respect to each other and to thc lip q, as and for thepurpose herein set forth.

2. XVe do not claim, broadly, feeding the fabric bythe combined verticaland lateral motion of a roughened-surface feed-bar on the said fabric,as such a device isy described in the patent of A. B. Vilson, grantedDecember 19, 1854; but we claim the arrangement of parts hereindescribed for feeding the fabric and regulating the amount of thefeed-that is to say, the cams F and G, springrod P, arm's w ando, therod e, its collar 2, and adjustable nut Q.

3. lThe cylinders 3 and 4, with their respective pins, when arranged inrespect to each other to receive the folds of the needle-thread, asherein set forth, so that by turning one or both of the said cylindersthe pins may cause more or less of the folds to bear against the surfaceof the cylinders, as herein set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specificationbefore two subscribing witnesses.

JAS. H. SPENCER.

. THOMAS LAMB.

Witnesses:

HENRY HowsoN, HENRY ODioRNn.

